Karnataka crisis: Why 'No.2' is Congress's No.1 problem, yet again

The 50:50 power-sharing formula reportedly worked out between CM Siddaramiah and deputy CM DK Shivakumar after 2023 is back to haunt Congress.

It’s one thing for coalition partners to quarrel over the chief minister’s post, but it’s an entirely different matter when a leadership crisis erupts within a party that is in power on its own. For Congress, this is a recurring pattern.

In states where the Congress has had chief ministers of its own, the party has always had to balance the power tussle between the top leaders, which invariablity threatens the very stability of the government. The latest in the list is Karnataka.

The 50:50 power-sharing formula reportedly worked out between CM Siddaramiah and deputy CM DK Shivakumar after 2023 is back to haunt the party in the state. There had been unconfirmed reports of a “rotational CM arrangement,” under which Shivakumar would step in after 2.5 years, but the Congress leadership has never officially acknowledged such an agreement.

The standoff between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar over the chief ministerial post in Karnataka seems to have entered its climax with Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge acknowledging the situation, saying that “medicine” will be given to resolve the issue. The Congress is said to decide on leadership change by December 1.

Karnataka repeating history

In 1980, Congress legislator HC Srikantaiah moved away from the Congress (Devaraj Urs) to the Congress (I) or Congress (I) or the Indira Congress taking 84 MLAs with him. It unseated Devaraj Urs, then in his second consecutive chief ministerial term. However, Srikantaiah’s efforts were blown by Congress leader Sanjay Gandhi, who sidelined him and installed R Gundu Rao, a Brahmin, in the CM seat.

And it's not just Karnataka, the issue seems to be an inherent Congress problem.

Sidhu crisis in Punjab

Congress had to battle a major crisis between then Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh Sidhu and then Punjab Congress unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu ahead of the state assembly election in 2022.

Siddhu and Singh locked horns over various issues, including Lok Sabha ticket distribution, portfolio allotment and Pakistan’s then Prime Minister Imran Khan’s swearing-in ceremony. It was said that Sidhu's proximity to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi gave him this liberty. The Congress high-command tried to settle the issue. However, a faction of over 32 Punjab MLAs of 78 belonging to the Congress demanded from the Congress command to remove Amarinder Singh as chief minister.

After Singh won in 2022, Charanjit Singh Channi was made the Punjab CM. The call to name a chief ministerial candidate in Punjab got tougher for the Gandhis. The “deadlock” between Channi and Sidhu over the appointments of the Director General of Police and Advocate General, besides re-induction of a 'tainted' legislator in the Cabinet, continued for a while. Sidhu, who was Punjab Congress chief in September 2021, said he was miffed as tainted leaders, officers and even rivals were in the Punjab government.

Chhattisgarh power struggle

The Chhattisgarh crisis started by an assurance to its Health Minister TS Singh Deo from Rahul Gandhi about rotation of chief ministers in the state.

During the Congress government’s midterm, Deo demanded what he was apparently “promised”.

Singh Deo was the Leader of Opposition in Chhattisgarh Assembly during 2013-18. He considered himself an automatic choice for the chief minister’s position before Bhupesh Baghel emerged as the final choice. Baghel, who was the Chhattisgarh Congress president when the party won the assembly election, refused to give credibility to the “rotation” theory.

Rajasthan’s ‘young Turk’ issue

When Congress won the Rajasthan assembly election in 2018, Sachin Pilot was the deputy chief minister. After the Congress victory, Ashok Gehlot became chief minister. The differences between the two leaders came out in the open in 2020 when 18 MLAs loyal to Pilot staged a protest outside the Raj Bhavan. Pilot had once sat on a day-long fast in Jaipur against the Gehlot regime's alleged failure in probing corruption.

The rebellion was ultimately defused after intervention by the Gandhis. But the tensions between both the Congress leaders continued during the government's stint.

Scindia versus Kamal Nath

In December 2018, Congress won 114 seats against the BJP's 109 in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly election. Jyotiraditya Scindia was hopeful of being chosen as the chief minister but Congress high command picked Kamal Nath for the top job. The acrimony between the two came to the fore with Scindia showing displeasure over Nath’s leadership and targeting him over manifesto promises made to the public ahead of the assembly election.

In 2020, Jyotiraditya Scindia, once among Rahul Gandhi's closest aides, joined the BJP, ending his 18-year association with the Congress.  He joined the BJP along with 22 loyalist MLAs, reducing the Kamal Nath government to a minority.

On 20 March 2020, Nath resigned, paving the way for the BJP's return to power.